Chris Buescher opens up about the sting of NASCAR’s ‘closest loser’ trophy in an honest talk with Steve Letarte

Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing driver Chris Buescher was recently featured on NASCAR's 'Inside the Race' podcast with Steve Letarte, ahead of the Kansas Speedway race. During the episode, Buescher recalled his last year's race on the track, where he narrowly missed the win.

During the Kansas Speedway race held on May 5, 2024, the RFK driver was going neck-to-neck with Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson in the final stage of the race. The duo crossed the finish line almost with an identical time. The official and the scoring monitors declared Buescher the winner.

However, a few moments later, the governing body reversed the decision and revealed Larson crossed the finish line 0.001 seconds ahead of Chris Buescher. Fans criticized the sanctioning body for the same, but the organization defended itself, claiming they use high-precision speed cameras that are more precise than the paint on the finish line.

Recalling his near miss at Kansas Speedway, the #17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse driver stated:

“I think we came off of (Turn) 4 there and had his quarter-panel and were going to be able to switch the momentum around. When we got door-to-door there, that big hit turned us really sideways. It just killed our momentum there, as much as we thought we were going to be OK. The first (hit) didn’t help, but the second one right here is where it took all of our speed away."

“You know what, it was a good race. It’s a little bit easier to joke about now and certainly wasn’t in the moment, but we basically have a trophy for being the closest loser in NASCAR, so it’s not a good trophy to put up on the shelf,” he added. (via NASCAR)

Chris Buescher ranks 12th on the Cup Series driver's points table with 255 points. He has secured five top-ten and one top-five finishes in 11 starts this season.

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"They’re pushing me": RFK co-owner gets candid on Chris Buescher outperforming him in the 2025 season

Former NASCAR Cup Series champion and RFK co-owner Brad Keselowski was featured in a media day availability ahead of the Jack Link's 500 at Talladega Superspeedway. He then shared his thoughts on his teammates, Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece, outperforming him in the 2025 season.

Keselowski has been struggling since the beginning of the 2025 season and has failed to land a top-ten finish in 11 starts this season. This season was among the worst seasons of his career since his rookie year in 2010.

Meanwhile, his teammates Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece have been putting in solid performances. Preece has clinched one top-five finish and three top-ten finishes in 11 starts. The #17 Ford Mustang Dark Horse driver has five top-ten finishes and one top-five finish at Phoenix Raceway.

Reflecting on the comparison with Ryan Preece and Chris Buescher, the RFK co-owner stated:

“They’re pushing me, which is good. I don’t want it to be a one-directional relationship where I was pushing them. Maybe I got a little more than I hoped for (laughing), but I really like the intensity that both of them have. Ryan has brought a level of thoroughness that is very impressive and effort that comes with that. Ryan and Chris are two great race car drivers." (via SpeedwayDigest.com)

Brad Keselowski ranks 32nd on the Cup Series driver's points table with 142 points. He has four unfortunate DNFs in 11 starts and has an average finish of 26.273. While Chris Buescher ranks 12th and Ryan Preece ranks 18th in the Cup Series leaderboard.